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Does disaster really come in three’s? I hope not, but at least Frida’s run on near death experiences would be over. This blog is NOT called The Adventures of Frida the Mexican Street Dog, but lately it could be. Having lived through moquillo, (distemper) and recently choking on a dog chew. (The Dog With Nine Lives), what else could possibly happen?

Somehow she got this down her throat.

The day after the choking scare, I took off with my neighbor and her friend Susan to visit Mahahual, a lovely village on the Caribbean about an hour away. They were on a hunt for a lobster lunch, which is in season, I wanted to hang out with them and get out of the house on a cool, beautiful Sunday. So off we went!

A lovely view for lunch.

Abandoned hippie van.

We found a great restaurant where they enjoyed lobster tail and I, vegan tostadas. We were on the way home when Teresa’s phone rang, Lisa was trying to reach me. Our neighbor’s crazy dog (that’s what I call him) reached under the fence and grabbed Frida by the snout and “there was blood everywhere”.

Guard dog on the Mahahual beach road.

I tend to stay pretty calm, especially when there’s nothing to be done while careening down a Mexican highway twenty minutes out. Lisa and her mom sounded like they had it under control but I could tell they were scared.

Poor puppy, a pretty big gash in her mouth.

I walked into the house and Frida all but flew out of Lisa’s arms to get to me. A good sign of life. She was still bleeding but not in a life threatening way. I messaged our vet who was out of town. He told me what to do. I think Frida got more sleep than Lisa or me that night. We were pretty shook up.

Naughty or Nice?

End of story, no broken jaw, she is fine. Crazy dog cut her mouth pretty deep but nothing fractured. Frida just doesn’t know she’s a little dog. Sigh. I think we’ve solved the problem of Crazy dog. Haven’t seen him in awhile.

Happy Holidays all. Things are pretty quiet here, just the way we like it.

DOS TORTAS

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This past summer I lost a little dog we adopted from the street, ChaCha. She escaped our yard and got hit by a car. My heart broke and I cried for days. When our friend Carla posted sad pictures of a little dog she found running the streets of Bacalar, I was wary. I wasn’t ready for another heartbreak.

A bad case of mange.

Carla had to go away for the weekend and we volunteered to keep Frida “on a trial basis”. She arrived and we were totally smitten. Frida moved in like she was home. No questions asked. Smart puppy.

Carla reported that she had taken her to the vet who thought she might have had distemper. Naive and clueless that we are, we thought she was ok after the treatment. Truth is, there is no cure for distemper. She had a head bob and tick in her rear leg. She drank a LOT of water and had difficulty swallowing.

An infected rump. Who could resist those eyes?

The first night we immediately felt that Frida had a fever. Off to the vet we went. She was very underweight. We got the best food we could think of and made a mush out of blended chicken and rice to help her swallow. Taking turns, it took an hour to hand feed her. As much came out as we put in and we were both covered in puppy schmutz. We were struggling.

Discovering toys. Her coat much healed.

We took Frida to a veterinary hospital in Chetumal for a second opinion. The sweetest vet sat us down and told us that Frida only had a 50/50 chance of survival. She had to be kept away from our other dogs. She didn’t tell us to put her down, but you could tell that she wanted us to consider it. My heart broke again.

We decided to fight the good fight and left the hospital with vitamins, wet food, antibiotics and muscle relaxants for her twitching. I continued hand feeding her. She wanted to eat, but was not getting the food down well. I got scared and hopeless, especially since I was leaving for a week in Oaxaca and Lisa would have to care for her on her own. Frida was a special needs dog.

Caught snoozing.

While I was gone, a miracle happened and Frida began eating. It was slow going. She would lay on her belly and pick up the food one pellet at a time. And boy did she eat. After I got home it was clear that she had gained weight. She had more energy and was so glad to see me.

And she continues to grow.

I took her for her follow-up visit and the vet was shocked. Frida was declared a miracle. Our skinny little puppy now has a belly. She runs and plays and her head bob has diminished. Her favorite activity is still a nap with me in the hammock. She also loves walks and is determined that Luna will like her. While everyday is a miracle, some days are just better than others. DOS TORTAS

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The TORTAS are off on another adventure with a quick trip to the U.S. and then four weeks in Central Mexico. We were only gone three days when I received a message from our neighbor that Cha Cha, my new little dog got out of the yard and was hit by a car and killed.

Before she came to us after being spayed. Looking sad and skinny.

We’re not sure how she got out. I’ve been feeling sad and even now it’s hard to write about it. I only had her a month, but time really doesn’t matter. I took a risk and opened my heart. How often do we really get to do that in our lives?

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EVERYONE in Bacalar had told us “you need to get a dog”. We smiled and nodded and voiced some minor objections. We have never owned a dog (together) in the twenty one years of our relationship. Our busy lives and raising kids didn’t leave a lot of room. So how the heck do we now have three dogs???

Left in a bag on the street covered in ticks and fleas.

Bacalar is a small town. Dogs can be seen running the streets, skeletal, covered in mange and injured. It is too big a problem for us bleeding heart expats to do much about. But it can make a difference to one dog, or three.

Dogs eat garbage, protect the home on a short chain and are dismissed as having much of a life at all. I’ve blogged on the topic previously.

A trip to the vet. Everything checked out.

Luna came into our lives when our friends heard whimpering in the middle of the night and found her. She was in bad shape unable to lift her head to eat. After some tender mercies she rallied and was soon showing her sweet disposition. We were smitten with puppy love at first meeting.

She definitely prefers a full body siesta.

Life is full of puppy training videos, chew toys and hourly trips to “go potty”. She is about eight weeks old. Sleep when the baby sleeps does not only apply to humans.

Luna loves belly rubs.

We are now moms to a lively, intelligent, teething, and most welcome little critter. Oh, and the other two? Cielo and Sol have moved into our house before we did. Mexican street dogs are very loyal. Give them a regular meal and a head pat and they’re yours forever. A good reason we’re going to fence the yard.DOS TORTAS